This invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of cyclododecenylacetonitrile.
Cyclododecenylacetonitrile has been prepared by the condensation of cyclododecanone with acetonitrile in the presence of strongly alkaline catalysts, Stephen A. DiBiase et al., Journal of Org. Chem. 44, No. 25, page 4640, (1979). A mixture of the isomers (1) and (2), in cis and trans form, is obtained in an overall yield of about only 45%. ##STR1## Such a low yield inhibits commercial exploitation of the product.